Grants Given in Australia

Round 31

July to September 2016

Cause

Region

Amount

White Ribbon Australia

On 2nd September, over 800 Harcourts staff, family, friends, business partners and like-minded community members participated nationwide in our 4th annual "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes" events to raise domestic violence awareness. These funds were donated to White Ribbon's "Breaking the Silence" respectful relationships programme in primary and secondary schools across Australia, aimed at creating generational change in attitudes towards violence.

National

$118,308

Suited to Success

STS empowers disadvantaged and marginalised SE Queenslanders who are seeking work to develop employability skills, increasing their chances of securing and maintaining employment by building self-esteem, self-confidence, training in presentation and interview techniques and providing business clothing. To date, STS has helped over 5,000 Queenslanders on their journey to achieve their employment goals, and expects to help around 1,000 men and women during 2016. Clients are referred by employment service agencies, hospitals and community organisations across SE Queensland including high unemployment areas of Logan, Ipswich, Sunshine and Gold Coasts. These funds will be used towards an online system to record client data, obtain feedback from clients, and evaluate the impact of its services, freeing up scarce resources to focus on client services

National - Corporate Choice

$1,000

A Taste of Paradise Organic Farm

A Taste of Paradise Organic Farm is a not for profit charity, specifically set up to support disabled, disadvantaged and at risk young people. The farm uses gentle animals as cathartic agents to assist with the healing process and the fear of adults. They then participate in the running of the farm according to their abilities. This is a unique project that, to our knowledge, has not been replicated anywhere in the state.
The more able children can gain their VET qualifications in agricultural /horticultural subjects through their practical work on the farm in conjunction with local Community colleges while the less fortunate still achieve personal milestones they would not have thought possible. The farm consists of 100 acres, with power supplied through generators and solar, while all water is collected from rain and stored in a large tank. We seek a grant to purchase an automatic water pressure pump that will enable the expansion of the vegetable garden enterprise and ensure an adequate water supply at all times.

National - Corporate Choice

$1,000

Play List Group

Play List Group provides vital crisis and emergency funding for adults and children with autism, intellectual and/or physical disability. Our clients are, or are at risk of becoming, homeless and desperately need emergency accommodation, being relinquished by family, or require short-term support while their carer has a break or requires medical attention. Play List Group funds a number of respite, social and educational programs for children with a disability, including our Cubby Camp for 15 children with low to moderate disabilities. The two-day program will enable children to learn new skills and make new friends outside of their limited social groups of family and school, in a fun, stimulating and safe environment, and with an appropriate level of disability worker support. Participants will engage in a variety of outdoor activities including: kayaking, rafting, abseiling, scavenger hunts, and art and craft. The grant be used toward the costs of the camp, including accommodation, insurance levies, and outdoor activities and equipment, as well as disability support worker wages to facilitate the care and inclusion of all participants. A video highlighting the participating children’s experiences at our inaugural camp in January 2016 can be found here: http://playlistgroup.com.au/news

National - Corporate Choice

$1,000

Mental Health Carers Tasmania

Mental Health Carers TAS provides state-wide support to carers who care for a family member or friend with a mental illness, and their goal is to enable carers to access information, support and advice about mental health services and to access peer support when needed. With 61% of adults in Tasmania having literacy problems, MHCT will use this grant to re-design their website to be a more contemporary, up to date, interactive and accessible tool.

Tasmania

$3,000

Edmund Rice Services (Edmund Rice Camps)

Edmund Rice Camps Tasmania is a state-wide, volunteer-driven organisation that provides socially and financially disadvantaged children aged from 8-15 - referred by the child's school or social worker - with experiences they may not otherwise have. During the camps, each participant is paired up with a young leader, promoting positive relationships, friendship and trust. Participants and leaders come home from the programs feeling motivated, having learned a little about themselves, other people, and life. They run multiple week-long holiday camps during school holidays at a cost of $200 per child, and with many parents unable to afford this, our grant of $5000 provided 25 children a free place, which can often change the lives of these children.

Tasmania

$5,000

Ulverstone Surf Life Saving Club

Ulverstone Surf Life Saving Club, established in 1930, provides beach safety and education services to the public along the main beach at Ulverstone overlooking Bass Straight in addition to West Beach and Turners Beach. The club has in excess of 300 members, of which 80 are active patrolling members. A volunteer patrolling lifesaver will spend on average 5 hours on the beach, and their uniform not only identifies them to the public but also provides protection from the sun’s harsh UV rays. A standard patrol uniform includes a hat, long sleeved shirt and shorts which Clubs provide to the volunteers at no cost by utilising various fundraising events to cover the expense. The yellow and red uniforms are synonymous with surf lifesaving and a vital component of this recognition, worn with pride, and inspire their Nippers to become patrolling members as they grow older. This season there are a large number of junior members graduating to senior ranks, and these funds will be used to purchase 80 new uniforms @ $33 each for a total of $2640.

Tasmania

$2,640

Orange Sky Laundry

Orange Sky Laundry is Australia's first mobile laundry service for the homeless. A world first, started in Brisbane by two 20 year-olds in September 2014, the custom fitted vans have been servicing parks and drop in centres across Australia and the wider community with two industrial washers and dryers in each van. Two years later, Orange Sky now has 10 vans operating across Australia in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne CBD, Melbourne SE, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth. Every week this fleet of mobile laundries complete more than 7000kgs of laundry for some of the 105,000 Australians who are identified as being homeless. The service is run by a team of more than 600 volunteers who provide over 1300 hours of non-judgemental conversation every week, which positively and genuinely connect our homeless friends with the community. Orange Sky has recently launched "Orange Sky Showers", a new project which will deliver a mobile shower service to the homeless they can put clean clothes on a clean body, and have the confidence to complete everyday tasks such as visiting the supermarket or using public transport. A key goal is to grow both the laundry and shower van models to positively connect as many of our homeless friends as possible

Queensland

$6,000

Belconnen Arts Centre

Established in 2009, Belconnen Arts Centre - based in a multi-arts centre in Canberra - identifies people and communities who are ready to take a significant step in their creative activities, and work with them to design and build process-driven programs to achieve lasting change. They welcome 40,000 people through their doors each year, and offer tailored programs for people with a disability, mental illness and for those in indigenous communities. These funds will be used to acquire an accessible interactive whiteboard with a motorised, height-adjustable trolley, for use by people in wheelchairs and with other mobility constraints. This will transform our meeting space into a versatile and useful space for free disability community usage, including board meetings and presentations, planning sessions, teleconferencing, creative arts workshops and small film screenings.

New South Wales / ACT

$10,281

Volunteer Marine Rescue NSW Shellharbour

Marine Rescue NSW - Shellharbour is a unit within the Volunteer Marine Rescue NSW organisation, situated in the South Coast of NSW, whose role is to provide search and rescue capabilities and emergency response to the communities of the Illawarra who participate in marine activities. They are an entirely volunteer unit and have their rescue vessel on call 24/7 for any marine emergency. Funds are sought to replace their existing tender (small boat) which they use to access their rescue vessel Shellharbour 30, moored in Shellharbour Harbour, as the existing tender’s ongoing repairs are costly and it needs to be replaced with a more modern, stable and robust version.

New South Wales

$3,975

Cystic Fibrosis Victoria

Formed in 1974 by parents seeking support, Cystic Fibrosis Victoria (CFV) provides programs and services to support individuals and families, and alleviate some of the emotional and financial burdens of CF. To further address the cumulative challenges and needs of the CF community, they offer wellness-based programs which promote living well with CF and combat the development of complex and often irreversible health issues. In partnering with CF clinics at major hospitals such as the Monash Medical Centre, CFV seeks to deliver these programmes to CF patients already attending hospital as in/outpatients, where none currently exist. This grant will fund a proposed CF Physio/Massage Therapy Program located within the CF clinic of Monash Medical Centre, with the $5000 grant enabling the assistance of between four and six CF patients each week for one year.

Victoria

$5,000

Ronald McDonald House Parkville

Ronald McDonald House Parkville (RMHP), established in 1986, is one of the largest in Australia, and runs accommodation and support services for families of seriously ill children. Having provided a ‘home away from home’ for almost 13,000 families, they are now accommodating approximately 40,000 nightly guests each year, with up to 52 families accommodated each night. The RMHP Chapter offers a holistic approach that is a continuum of care for the seriously ill child including accommodation at the House, House activities and services for the entire family, Ronald McDonald Family Rooms located at Wodonga Health, The Northern Hospital and Western Health Sunshine Campus, Retreats and a successful Learning program. Families often arrive at the House with little more than the clothing on their backs and can be disoriented, suddenly finding themselves in Melbourne, talking to specialists, with a seriously ill child and their lives turned upside down. To help families settle in and find their feet, new families receive a welcome pack on arrival, filled with the essentials families need to begin their stay at the House - from cereal and long life milk and pasta meals to toothbrushes and toothpaste. The pack has the necessities needed to function and keep the basics going until families are orientated and can get to the local shopping centres, and this grant will be used to fund 80 welcome packs.

Victoria

$2,633

Royal Society for the Blind of South Australia

The Royal Society for the Blind (RSB), established in 1884, has grown to become the primary provider of services and support to people who are blind or vision impaired, so that they may live full and independent lives. The RSB's Industrial Services factory provides employment for people who are blind or vision impaired. The factory has recently expanded into food packaging, and RSB seek support to purchase two band sealers to offer fast and immediate sealing of filled bags. This acquisition would provide employment for two new staff and improved production output will attract additional contracts from existing customers and assist in securing new contracts, in turn resulting in further employment opportunities.

Recent Grants

We are a '100%' Charity

No management fees, salaries or running costs of the Harcourts Foundation are taken from our donation account. Our National Board of Directors, Coordinator, Accountant and Regional Ambassadors all donate their time and expertise, meaning 100% of all funds raised go directly to the charities where they are needed most.

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